[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

Frankly, I wouldn't touch a car with the Phase I 2.5L engine. It's expensive and inconvienent to repair the head gaskets, and you may need to do it more than once. AT THE VERY LEAST have the coolant tested for exhaust gas. The Phase I head gasket leak can be very hard to detect in it's beginning stages. Sometimes you can see bubbles of exhaust gas in the overflow container when the engine is at FULL operating temperature. I'm not an expert on testing for exhaust gases in the coolant. The seller may have put fresh coolant in the car. Find out what you need to know. This car may very well be OK, but several posters have reported buying used Phase I cars with the head gaskets already blown.

 

As far as the Aussie poster goes, I pretty sure that the don't HAVE the Phase I 2.5L engine in OZ! Lots of poisonous snakes there though, so it's about even, I'd say.

Expensive, these days, with living in nothern nj, everything is.

Inconvience is not big deal as I am keeping my jeep so if something happens. I can use that for a while until I decide to fix it.

 

Good point though. I'll have it checked out before I go any further.

[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

If you get a good deal on it...it'd only be like $1000 or so for a new headgasket and labor...I think its around there.

Yup. sounds right. I spoke with my friend who was a suby mechanic for 5 years and he said they were good cars and recommended them. He did say he did a few headgaskets during those years but not enough to warrant calling them crappy cars. He said, an honest price would be about $500 per side to repair them which is not great but managable.

 

Hell, I'll take my chances, if it happens and I feel pissed at myself, i'll sell it, take a loss and move on.

[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

The 98 Forester has the Phase I engine. The Phase I is prone to INTERNAL head gasket failures. We're talking overheating, warped head gaskets, and other potentially serious problems. One poster on this board has reported that he is on his fourth head gasket replacement. A fair number of posters have reported multiple head gasket replacements on their Phase I engines. Other Phase I owners have reported no problems. Sooooo........are you feeling lucky?

Damn Damn Damn! This is driving me nuts. I really dont want to end up in a yota or honda. I am starting to think this was a bad idea. I mean, I have a jeep cherokee that I drive through water, over rocks, hill clmbs, you name it. 95K miles and no problems except for a soar rump roast on long drives.

[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

Thanks for the responses. My brother just informed me that we have a family friend who was a suby mechanic at a dealership for 5 years or so. I will be calling him to get his opinion. I think it might be favorable because my mother told me that his mother is driving a older forester. We'll see.

 

I let everyone know.

 

Thanks

[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

Just get in writing that they will REPAIR any problem with head gasket failure, not just put some sealant in if there is a problem.

I doubt they would go for that. They'll probably say something like "What do expect us to do, cover the headgaskets for the next 100K miles?"

[Buying 98 forester, should I cancel due to head gasket concerns]

I just put down a deposit on a 98 forester with 52500 miles. After researching and researching somemore, I found your site and see some problems with head gaskets with this engine.

 

Is this a frequent problem? Can every suby owner expect this to happen sooner or l8tr? Any advice would be highly appreciated.

 

After being married for 5 years, I cannot stand to hear my wife complain and moan about me making this purchase if something happens. I chose this vehicle because I don't want a honda or toyota but I am starting to think they are the only choice for someone who commutes to 50 miles to work and needs something cheap and reliable

 

I just hope that if I back out, they will give me my deposit back.